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The SME Study Group enjoys regular Ministerial
access, on the basis of six-weekly meetings with Small Firms Minister Nigel Griffiths and has recently produced an important paper entitled, `SME Facts
& Issues - A Compilation of Current Data and Issues on UK Small and
Medium-Sized Firms'. The Group comprises around 40 interested LFIG members,
and its meetings at the House of Commons usually attract approaching a dozen
of its keener members.
Report: SME Meeting with Small Firms Minister, Nigel
Griffiths
Small Firms Minister, Nigel Griffiths, is
a long-term supporter of the Labour Finance & Industry Group and has agreed
to regular meetings with members of the LFIG SME Study Group. On Tuesday
16th September, John Stanworth, Mike Harrison, Barbara Rogers, David Purdy
and Jane Mackenzie visited the Minister at his office in Victoria Street.
In a meeting lasting over half-an-hour, the issue of small firms lobby
groups was discussed in some depth. Mike Harrison and Barbara Rogers were
both members of small firms lobby groups and discussed their experiences of
them. John Stanworth explained that he had some relevant research ongoing
which would be reported before Christmas. John also handed the Minister the
latest issue of the Institute of Directors magazine which featured the
Minister in most favourable terms on the front page in support of a
full-length article inside.
Mike and Barbara then turned the conversation towards the issue of business
incorporation and the advantages it bestowed upon larger organisations. The
Minister suggested that they produce a paper on this issue for future
discussion.
Danny Bernstein, Small Firms Minister
Nigel Griffiths and John Stanworth
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Extract from address
by Simon Bartley of CBI to Hong Kong Trade Development Council conference,
11 November 2003 -
download
here |
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SME: Facts and Issues
-
download here. Please note that this file is approx. 450
kb in size. It is in .pdf (Acrobat) format. |
Would anybody interested in this kind of
work please contact Jennifer Muller
or John Stanworth direct: stanwoj@wmin.ac.uk |
Chair:
Professor John Stanworth
University of Westminster
Faculty of Business & Management
35 Marylebone Road
London
NW1 5LS
Tel: 0207 911 5000 x 3025
Email: stanwoj@wmin.ac.uk
Brief
Biography:
John Stanworth is Professor of Enterprise Studies at the
Westminster Business School, University of Westminster. His interest in
SMEs dates back to the mid-1960s, pre-dating even the setting up of the
seminal Bolton Report in the late 1960s. John also has interests in
Franchising and New Forms of Work. He has over 100 books and articles on
SMEs to his name and over 50 radio and television appearances. |
| Message from Professor John
Stanworth, Chairman of the Group:
"There is much debate on the role of Government in stimulating enterprise
and SME development. Indeed, some say that this process is so difficult that
political institutions should disengage and leave things to market forces.
However, we do not accept that view. If the climate for SMEs is to improve,
we feel that we must have policies and must try to improve things. We feel
that small business problems fall into 3 main groups. Firstly, finance - are
small firms seriously disadvantaged vis-a-vis their larger counterparts by
virtue of having limited access to capital markets, limited track records
and collateral facilities? Assumptions that the answer is `yes' have spawned
initiatives such as the Loan Guarantee Scheme and current interest in
`Business Angels'. Turning to the issue of training, are small firms
seriously disadvantaged by virtue of lacking access to the management skills
and specialist advice which large firms possess in-house or, alternatively,
can afford to access externally? Assumptions that the answer to this
question is `yes', have spawned initiatives such as Training & Enterprise
Councils, Business Links, Enterprise Agencies, the Small Business Service,
etc.
Finally, turning to the issue of bureaucracy and compliance costs, are
small firms disadvantages vis-a-vis their larger counterparts by virtue of
being used by Government as unpaid tax collectors and being inundated by
stifling bureaucracy and legislation? Again, whereas larger firms can afford
to employ specialists to cope with Government paperwork, in smaller firms
much of the burden falls directly on the shoulders of the owner-managers and
their key team. Government initiatives such as VAT and other thresholds have
been introduced here in order to reduce the level of burdens.
If you would like any more
information - or would like to join the Group - please contact Jennifer
Muller.
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